Curriculum
Autonomous Systems
Hosting Institution
AI4I – The Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence
Department
PHI Lab
Supervisor
Leonel Rozo
Contacts
leonel.rozo@ai4i.it
Funding Scheme
This doctorate grant is fully funded by The Italian institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI4I) in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Genova
Scholarship Amount
Fascia 4: 19,500 €/year
Position Description
The Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence (AI4I), in collaboration with Università degli Studi di Genova, invites applications for a PhD position in Safe Generative Models as part of the PhD Programme in Autonomous Systems.
Control theory provides principled mechanisms such as stability certificates or control barriers that can be leveraged to control and guide the generalization behaviour of generative models. When trained, such models can capture the underlying geometry of the data, but they may also be trained on data that are intrinsically non-Euclidean or that belong to dynamical systems with specific geometric properties. The first goal will be to integrate control-theoretic principles to guarantee safety, stability, and predictable generalization of generative models. The second objective will leverage differential geometry to understand what the models learn, how they generalize, and consequently design safety guarantees that leverage the geometry of the data and the generative model. The developed methods will be applied in robotic manipulation for contact-rich tasks, human-robot collaboration settings, control of physical systems, among others.
REQUIREMENTS
Must have skills:
- Excellent Master’s degree in computer science, physics, mathematics, electrical or mechatronics engineering, or a related field
- Strong background in machine learning and robotics
- Good programming skills in Python
- Fluent in spoken and written English
- A team player, but also can work autonomously
- Experience with scientific writing
Good to have skills:
- Background on (applied) differential geometry
- Publication of peer-reviewed research papers
References
- J. Zhang, et al. “Learning Riemannian Stable Dynamical Systems via Diffeomorphisms”, CoRL, 2022.
- H. Beik-Mohammadi, et al. “Neural Contractive Dynamical Systems”. ICLR, 2024.
- H. Beik-Mohammadi, et al. “Extended Neural Contractive Dynamical Systems: On multiple tasks and Riemannian Safety Regions”. IJRR, 2025.
Number of Positions Available
1
Application Documents
- One-page cover letter including a short (two-paragraph) research proposal related to the PhD topic and aligned with your professional interests.
- Curriculum Vitae (CV).
- Bachelor’s and Master’s diplomas with transcripts and grades.
Main Research Site
AI4I – The Italian Institute of Artificial Intelligence for Industry
Corso Castelfidardo 22, 10129 Torino, Italy
What We Offer
- Joint supervision between AI4I and Università degli Studi di Genova.
- Access to high-performance computing resources and advanced research infrastructure.
- Opportunities for international collaboration and contributions to high-impact publications.
- A dynamic and interdisciplinary research environment.
- Financial support for attending international conference and Winter/Summer schools.
Start Date
1st March 2026
How to Apply
Applications for this position are managed by Università degli Studi di Genova.
Please apply via the university’s official PhD admissions portal:
https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/post-laurea/dottorato
For More Information
https://drim.i-rim.it/en/admission/
https://unige.it/en/students/phd-programmes
About AI4I
AI4I – The Italian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence has been founded to perform transformative, application-oriented research in Artificial Intelligence. AI4I is set to engage and empower gifted, entrepreneurial, young researchers who commit to producing an impact at the intersection of science, innovation, and industrial transformation.
Highly competitive pay, bonus incentives, access to dedicated high-performance computing, state-of-the-art laboratories, industrial collaborations, and an ecosystem tailored to support the initiation and growth of startups stand out as some of the distinctive features of AI4I, bringing together people in a dynamic international environment.
AI4I is an Institute that aims to enhance scientific research, technological transfer, and, more generally, the innovation capacity of the Country, promoting its positive impact on industry, services, and public administration. To this end, the Institute contributes to creating a research and innovation infrastructure that employs artificial intelligence methods, with particular reference to manufacturing processes, within the framework of the Industry 4.0 process and its entire value chain. The Institute establishes relationships with similar entities and organizations in Italy and abroad, including Competence Centers and European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), so that the center may become an attractive place for researchers, companies, and start-ups.
